2021 Bills ST coach Heath Farwell joins the Jags

[YoloinOhio]

1 hour ago, MWK said:

He had already had 5 when we passed him up, which was 2 more than farwell had when we hired him

Farwell could still have been the better candidate at that time, but smiley proved himself worthy of the promotion afterward. 3 years is a long time. 

[Livinginthepast]

I would still love to know what happened in that situation and this just makes things more murky. If Farwell didnt listen to McD and kicked it deep then he should have been fired. If McD made that decision then why is Farwell going? Or is his exit due to mediocrity in the punting and punt coverage?

[eball]

Don't know if it has been mentioned in the thread, but on the Howard and Jeremy podcast (WGR) they claim Farwell resigned shortly after the game.

 

If true, yet another reason to respect the way McD runs things.  No firing, no public announcement he wouldn't be back...let him go look for work elsewhere and then matter-of-factly announce the internal promotion after Farwell has his new job.

 

Respect and dignity for all involved.

 

[4BillsintheBurgh]

54 minutes ago, Livinginthepast said:

I would still love to know what happened in that situation and this just makes things more murky. If Farwell didnt listen to McD and kicked it deep then he should have been fired. If McD made that decision then why is Farwell going? Or is his exit due to mediocrity in the punting and punt coverage?

After the extra point Bass might not have joined the st huddle where Farwell made the announcement and he then forgot to go back and make sure the kicker heard him. Just a guess though.

[billybob71]

Smiley and Clappy

[folz]

16 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

This is probably not a popular POV here, but I think it went deeper than the Chiefs kickoff.  “To whom much is given, much is expected”

1. Blocked punt for 7 points - best assessment I saw pointed to communication failure in blocking.  We put a lot into ST.  Unacceptable

2. Brought in 4 candidates for KR/PR yet wound up with our starting safety Micah Hyde fielding punts.  Meanwhile one of the candidates we cut, Brandon Powell, is about to return kicks and punts for the NFC Super Bowl Team.  Oopsie.

3. McKenzie had a number of good PR and KR called back for holds, including if I remember correctly at least one TD

4. Farwell spoke highly of Stevenson and how he was always asking to watch film etc - he must have signed off that he was ready to take over from McKenzie or even pushed for him, but that was an “egg on your face” move with “Speedy” running into people and muffing punts, that kind of wound up with McDermott looking a bit foolish after he cited “ball security” as a reason to prefer him to McK. (See point 2 above)

5. I don’t think they hold Haack against him

 

 

Completely agree, though I might change #5. Of course you can't blame Farwell for signing Haack, that's on Beane. He might have a bit of blame if he recommended him, but still on Beane. But, from the blocked punt in week 1, every fan could see that Haack's punt motion was either too slow or he wasn't standing back far enough. I started to hold my breath on every punt. And it never seemed to improve. Seems like there should have been some coaching that could have helped there. We're lucky more punts weren't blocked during the season.

 

And McBeane probably also hold the second Jets game against Heath. It's been a long time since I've seen such poor punting. Haack shanked 2-3 punts and muffed a snap leading to an 8-yard punt. Yes, the wind was bad, but isn't that when you coach up your punter to handle it differently, do something different to combat the wind. I'm no special teams coach, but maybe line drive them instead of pop them up, etc. Also, it's on the coach to not let the guy go into funk, be stuck in his head about the last bad play. And don't forget that McKenzie muffed one punt and made a dangerous play picking up a punt surrounded by defenders in that game too. He didn't lose either luckily, but bad day overall for Heath's group.

[reddogblitz]

19 hours ago, Hapless Bills Fan said:

 

This is probably not a popular POV here, but I think it went deeper than the Chiefs kickoff.  “To whom much is given, much is expected”

1. Blocked punt for 7 points - best assessment I saw pointed to communication failure in blocking.  We put a lot into ST.  Unacceptable

2. Brought in 4 candidates for KR/PR yet wound up with our starting safety Micah Hyde fielding punts.  Meanwhile one of the candidates we cut, Brandon Powell, is about to return kicks and punts for the NFC Super Bowl Team.  Oopsie.

3. McKenzie had a number of good PR and KR called back for holds, including if I remember correctly at least one TD

4. Farwell spoke highly of Stevenson and how he was always asking to watch film etc - he must have signed off that he was ready to take over from McKenzie or even pushed for him, but that was an “egg on your face” move with “Speedy” running into people and muffing punts, that kind of wound up with McDermott looking a bit foolish after he cited “ball security” as a reason to prefer him to McK. (See point 2 above)

5. I don’t think they hold Haack against him

 

Essentially, the ST story has been a mixed bag all season - not a disaster like GB, but probably “did not meet expectations”.  I think point 4 as well as the kickoff probably were the strong factors in suggesting he pursue other options (assuming that was the suggestion).  McDermott got rid of Dennison when he allegedly pushed for Peterman to start and it became clear he was So Not Up To It, thus causing McDermott to look foolish.

 

It’s unclear what input Farwell had into the personnel decisions of course, or what it was

 

 

May not be popular on TBD but it is with me.  I think this decision had ZERO to do with the kick in the playoff game.  May have been decided even before that.  It was the massive amount of kicking teams blunders and penalties throughout the season. The blocked punt cuz they kicker only lined 13 yards back. The fumble in the Indy game.  Other muffs.  A TD called back.  Kicking teams, which we have players on the roster for just that purpose, is way too important to have that many blunders. We all know intamately that in the playoffs the difference between win and go home can come down to kicking teams.  Its not acceptable and he's gone.

[JohnNord]

10 hours ago, Ray Finkel said:

You are exactly right.  The call didn’t get to Bass.  That is the true story from the inside.  I still think McDermott has blood on his hands also.  He should have got the defense out of that prevent.  Maybe he over ruled Leslie and that is why he is still here.

I think so too but what is he going to?  Fire himself?  🤣. I guess he can make the argument that a kick in play runs off 4-5 seconds (or more) off the clock and limits KC to one play.  Then again it might only run off 1-2.  Who knows?

 

I trust Eric Turner of Cover 1 who first reported what happened.  He said there were other issues with Farwell and the last :13 is only part of the reason why he’s not back.  
 

As far as McDermott Tim Graham speculated that the earned respect in the locker room based on how he address the situation.   He didn’t give any answers but also didn’t throw any players or coaches under the bus.  He said players respect that.

 

 

32 minutes ago, reddogblitz said:

 

May not be popular on TBD but it is with me.  I think this decision had ZERO to do with the kick in the playoff game.  May have been decided even before that.  It was the massive amount of kicking teams blunders and penalties throughout the season. The blocked punt cuz they kicker only lined 13 yards back. The fumble in the Indy game.  Other muffs.  A TD called back.  Kicking teams, which we have players on the roster for just that purpose, is way too important to have that many blunders. We all know intamately that in the playoffs the difference between win and go home can come down to kicking teams.  Its not acceptable and he's gone.

This is what Erik Turner of Cover 2 said as well.  The kickoff was only part of the issue and that there were other factors.  You probably hit on many of these

[stuvian]

12 hours ago, Ridgewaycynic2013 said:

Wow, that is  a good one. 😁

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🎤

[Mr. WEO]

On 2/9/2022 at 4:13 PM, Doc said:

 

It should be addressed by McD.  He might have assumed Farwell knew enough to tell Bass.

 

 

What was Bass doing at the time that he didn't understand what the plan was?

[billieve420]

3 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

 

What was Bass doing at the time that he didn't understand what the plan was?

Kicking on the side apparently.

[Don Otreply]

On 2/9/2022 at 11:22 AM, GunnerBill said:

 

Contract was up.

Oh sure, remove the speculation, where’s the fun it that.. 

 

 

😁

[Mr. WEO]

7 hours ago, billieve420 said:

Kicking on the side apparently.

 

he was practicing.....kickoffs? 

[billieve420]

7 hours ago, Mr. WEO said:

 

he was practicing.....kickoffs? 

 

Apparently Bass wasn't in the Special Teams huddle and never got the call. Reason why there was confusion once he kicked into the end zone. So obviously there was some miscommunication and probably why Farwell is no longer coaching here.

 

[Mr. WEO]

40 minutes ago, billieve420 said:

 

Apparently Bass wasn't in the Special Teams huddle and never got the call. Reason why there was confusion once he kicked into the end zone. So obviously there was some miscommunication and probably why Farwell is no longer coaching here.

 

yes we heard that sequence.  I didn’t realize Kickers practice routine kickoffs on the sideline right before

[YoloinOhio]

2 minutes ago, Mr. WEO said:

yes we heard that sequence.  I didn’t realize Kickers practice routine kickoffs on the sideline right before

They do, on the grassy knoll